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Kûkulu kauhale o limaloa : a Kanaka Maoli culture based approach to education through visual studies : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education, Massey University, College of Education

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Abstract

This thesis reports on the outcome of a Kanaka Maoli culture based teacher education class initiated as a research project through the University of Hawaii in the summer of 2004. With the aim to identify and engage pedagogical and curricular approaches derived from the cultural perspectives, values and aspirations of Kanaka Maoli people, this experimental class utilized image making as the principle basis for investigation and the representation of knowledge from a Kanaka Maoli perspective. This research project set out to actively engage Kanaka Maoli approaches to teaching and knowledge construction so as to describe a viable alternative to National and State mandated education practices in Art Education which have historically overlooked and marginalized indigenous knowledge through the school curriculum in Hawai'i.(Benham & Heck, 1998) Limaloa's Kauhale, an educational model grounded in a Kanaka Maoli cultural metaphor, was developed and applied through this research project as a way of offering students the chance to learn within an educational setting where Kanaka Maoli knowledge, ways of knowing and ways of expressing that knowledge was prioritized as the principle medium of investigation. The results of student work - images and written journal responses - were examined as a part of this research to identify the principle effects and understandings students identified as the effect of working through the Kanaka Maoli educational setting. The complete work of this thesis identifies from the experiences of students working through the Kauhale Metaphor a set of learning outcomes that arise out of a Kanaka Maoli culture based approach for education through image making.